One of the conditions treatable by chiropractic medicine is scoliosis of the spine. In the condition of rotatory scoliosis, the spine is not only curved so as to be out of alignment but it is also twisted about its axis. There are well known procedures for treating this condition using chiropractic medicine. A specially designed table is preferably used in which the chest-lumbar section of the table can be tilted sideways of the table to aid the practitioner in performing the proper procedure for treatment of this condition. The support and mounting mechanism for the chest-lumbar section of the table must be constructed so that the spine stays substantially centered on the table as the section swings sideways. This requires that the pivot center of the section be above the longitudinal axis of the table.
Known mechanisms for allowing the chest-lumbar section of the table to properly swing sideways are relatively simple, but are such that the section of the table cannot be adjusted vertically to accommodate the particular anatomy of the patient. Moreover, a common chiropractic procedure for certain conditions, including scoliosis, is to provide a table with a drop feature which permits the practitioner to raise the section of the table slightly, cock it and then apply pressure to the patient's spine until a predetermined amount of pressure is reached at which time the section of the table will drop producing the desired effect. With known designs of tables, there is no supporting and mounting structure that will allow proper swinging of the section for the treatment of scoliosis while still allowing the height of the section to be vertically adjusted and the drop feature to be included. The ability to provide all three features in a single section in a single table allows the practitioner to use a single table for all procedures. If a patient requires both treatments, this eliminates having to move the patient to a different table perhaps in a different treatment room. It also is very cost effective and will allow the practitioner to acquire a single table that can be used for a variety of procedures.